It is rare in our 24-hour Twitter news cycle era to see a trade go down without even a whisper of interest connecting the team and the player until the deal is all but done. But here we are, the 2018 non-waiver trade deadline has passed, and the Phillies netted themselves left-handed reliever Aaron Loup (in addition to two bats in Asdrúbal Cabrera and Wilson Ramos), without so much as a peep linking the club and its newest bullpen weapon.

The under-the-radar acquisition, acquired for only Triple A pitcher Jacob Waguespack, sheds more light onto what type of pitcher this front office values.

The fit

Two-thirds of the way through the 2018 season, the Phillies’ bullpen, as a whole, has been decidedly average against left-handed hitters. They rank between 12th and 14th in the majors in every triple slash category, OPS, wOBA allowed, strikeout and walk rates. When isolating just how their left-handed relievers have fared against left-handed hitters, the...